187results about "Rafts" patented technology

A variable volume raft containing adjustable ratio and amounts of air and or water. The buoyancy and ballast of the raft are routinely adjusted to accommodate additional occupants and changing weather conditions. A manual pump can be the primary or back up source for initial inflation. The torque pump twisted by hand or amplified by a lever arm generates air pressure for maintenance and repairing deflating lacerations at sea. The pumps collector gathers and pressurizes rain water for drinking in one chamber while pressurizing sea water as a stabilizing ballast in another chamber. A double hull or full floor chamber allows huge variations in buoyancy or ballast as dictated by changing needs for stability versus mobility. A compressed liquid or two-part foam confers puncture resistance to a portion of the raft. A thrown self-righting manual air horn, worn water-activated air horns and water activated transmitted signals, mark the site for rescuers.

A modular marine vessel has a variable hull and a plurality of boat forming modules including a bow section module, a load section module having a bow end and an aft end, and a bulkhead forming module is detachably connected to each bow and aft end of the load section module. The bulkhead forming module that is connected at the bow end of the load section module is detachably connected to the bow section module. Each boat forming and bulkhead forming module includes a topside section and a hull bottom side section. The topside section of each boat forming module has a shell gunnel portion, and the hull bottom side section of each boat forming module has a pivotally mounted bottom shell hull portion. The gunnel and hull portions of the load and bow section modules are detachably connected end-to-end, and sealingly juxtaposed the detachably connected bulkhead forming module to prevent water from entering the boat when the boat engages water. The bottom shell hull portion is pivotally mounted across a keel tunnel using a pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, or electro-mechanical actuator to form a preselected hull shape as desired. Novel mechanisms for sealing module connections, for module attachment, for pivoting hull panels, for hull pivot drives, and energy conversion systems for the marine vessel of the invention are disclosed.

An assembly and a method for stowing away and removing a survival kit in a passenger cabin of an aircraft, comprising a first stowage compartment that may be put in place in a floor of the passenger cabin, wherein the first stowage compartment is equipped for completely accommodating the survival kit and for leading out a hook that is connected to the survival kit by way of a strap, which hook is used for hooking the survival kit to an attachment means of a rescue device with the first stowage compartment remaining closed.

A non-self-propelled, floatable structure for supporting people, animals, machinery or other loads is disclosed, having a floatable body designed to float on water, and a retention skirt that protrudes downwardly from a peripheral edge of the floatable body. The retention skirt is designed to extend underwater, delimiting an internal space between the retention skirt, the floatable body, and the water. The retention skirt is airtight, preventing air passing through the skirt and towards said internal space. Thus, when a downward force is applied on an edge of the floatable body causing the opposite edge to start rising from the water, skirt airtightness beneath the rising edge creates a vacuum effect that stops the edge from rising and prevents the floating structure from swaying excessively and eventually turning over or capsizing. The retention skirt also limits or prevents lateral and transverse motion across the water surface.

A floatable workstation including an inflatable tube including a floor, partitions disposed internally within an air receiving cavity of the tube to form one or more inflatable chambers, each chamber including a valve for inflating the chambers. A plurality of handles are disposed on the corners of the inflatable tube or on a deck assembly. The deck assembly includes a plurality of deckboards assembled together to form a floorboard. The deckboards are either inserted within a recess above the floor of the tube or alternatively attached to the top of the tube. One or more deckboards may include a receptacle for removeably holding a bucket. A tether arrangement is attached to the floatable workstation for securely positioning the floatable workstation alongside a vessel allowing one or more persons to stand on the workstation to perform maintenance on the outer surfaces of a vessel. The tether arrangement includes tethers, a means for fastening the tethers to the handles, and suction mechanisms.

A life raft canister is launched from a below deck doorway. A launcher is activated and pneumatically opens a below deck door, exposing the doorway. The same inflation tank inflates an elongated bladder that forces the life boat canister out of the doorway. The canister drops to the sea where the life boat is deployed from the canister. The life raft auto-inflates. As a result, a life raft is deployed from below-deck.

A flexible or semi rigid container having one or more openings, including, slits, slots, or shaped holes is sealed with a sealing apparatus. The sealing apparatus covers the openings and is attached to the container, sealing the openings and preserving the environment and integrity of the container. The sealing apparatus can have a visual indicator, which allows for rapid validation of the integrity of the seal.

A floatable workstation including an inflatable tube including optional partitions disposed internally within an air receiving cavity of the tube to form one or more inflatable chambers, each chamber including a valve for inflating the chambers. A plurality of corner fasteners is disposed on the corners of the inflatable tube or on a deck assembly. The deck assembly includes a plurality of deckboards assembled together to form a floorboard. The deckboards are assembled via an interlocking assembly feature. The deckboards are secured via a series of straps and D-rings. At least one deckboard may include a receptacle for holding tools or a bucket. A tether arrangement is attached to the floatable workstation for securely positioning the floatable workstation alongside a vessel allowing one or more persons to stand on the workstation to perform maintenance on the outer surfaces of a vessel. The tether arrangement includes tethers, a means for fastening the tethers to the handles, and suction mechanisms.

A child's canvas floatation device for use in an ocean, lake, or pool environment comprising a seat system for the child as well as a tether line for connection to a parent's or care provider's wrist is herein disclosed. The flotation device is toroidal being approximately two (2) to three (3) feet in diameter and provided with an inflation port and a series of grasping handles. The device is also provided with a textile covering over most of the entire tube area. The cover is wrapped back upon itself and covers the interior of the inner tube. The center is then provided with a pair of leg holes in which a child can insert his or her legs and be provided with a seat. As such, the child is not in danger of falling through the inner tube as is the case with conventional inner tubes. Additionally, the device is provided with an attached tether line approximately six (6) feet long that attaches to the parent's or care provider's wrist.

A foldable rigid frame attachment system for portable, inflatable pontoon boats including first and second inflatable elongated pontoons arranged to be approximately parallel to each other. The pontoons include pairs of upwardly extending strips formed in a longitudinal direction on both sides of the centerline on the top of each of the pontoons. Transversal slats connect the pontoons, and the bottom of each slat includes engaging means to engage the strips of the pontoons. The pontoon boat is held rigid by first and second underbars. The first underbar is positioned in a longitudinal direction on the top of the first pontoon in between the pairs of strips and below the slats, the second underbar is positioned in a longitudinal direction on the top of the second pontoon in between the pairs of strips and below the slats. As the pontoon boat is inflated, the underbars are locked into position between the pontoons and the slats.

A floatation system for attachment to a helicopter landing skid includes a girt dimensioned to be attached to a landing skid and a plurality of floats attached to the elongate girt, wherein the plurality of floats are adapted to be converted from a packed configuration to an deployed configuration, and wherein at least one of the plurality of floats extends beneath the elongate girt when the plurality of floats is in the deployed configuration.

An inflatable boat comprising: an inflatable float that is U-shaped and open at the stern, and that braced by a transom; a floor that is disposed inside the space defined by the float, and a V-shaped keel formed of a flexible canvas sheet fastened to the float and to the transom and tensioned by a longitudinal inflatable keel-forming spacer interposed between the floor and the canvas sheet; the inflatable keel-forming spacer is formed by at least two elongate and flat chambers inflated under a relatively high pressure; and the two chambers have their respective bottom longitudinal edges touching and their respective top longitudinal edges spaced apart from each other so that the keel-forming spacer is generally V-shaped in cross-section.

Apparatus for helping a person survive on a cold body of water includes a suit capable of covering at least a substantial portion of the user's body while allowing the user to move and work out of water. An inflatable raft is provided to hold and support the person on water when the raft has been inflated. The raft in a deflated state is foldable into a compact configuration and is sufficiently light in weight to be carried on a back of the person out of water. There is a raft holder adapted to hold the raft in its compact state and adapted for carrying on the suit. The raft can be tethered to the suit or the raft holder.

A pressure activated latch includes a latch housing, a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, an internal biasing member and a sliding latch pin that is configured to engage a latch tab that is substantially adjacent to the latch housing. The latch pin is slidable between a first position in which the latch pin prevents fluid communication between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet and engages the latch tab and a second position in which the latch pin is disengaged from the latch tab and fluid communication is permitted between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet. The internal biasing member is configured to apply a force upon the latch pin to bias it into the first position.